Awaiting our baby boys....

[JillyChrimes]

Hi everyone..

We are hopefully picking up our 2 new baby boys on the 18th or 19th May and i was after some guidance if possible.

We have a Ferplast 120 cage that i got recently brand new. we had 2 rabbits in it for 2 days so no damage was done to it.. i'm going to clean out, wash and disinfect before we get the boys. They will be going in my sons room - open to change, maybe into mine - although they are his pigs.

I'm looking into making a fleece liner for them using fleeces from Primarni - cheap and can get a few at a time with a bath towel sewn into the middle.. fleece is my choice for a few reasons. Both myself and my son have asthma and i think this will be the best alternative to straw etc.. also its much cleaner than going in and having sawdust, hay, substrate all over the place when theyve had zoomies..

I'm going to get 2 of everything as mentioned in some threads.

can anyone give me any other guidance to what i can do to make them settle in safely and comfortably as soon as we get them.

thanks
Jilly x

 

[Siikibam]

Ooh exciting! You’ll find lots of info in the link below, including how to settle them.

New Owners' Most Helpful How-To Guides and Information

There’s also the guinea pig whispering guide which can help with developing a good relationship with your piggies.

Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips

The first thing I would strongly advise you to do is to get a bigger cage - 140cm+. Boys need more space than girls.

When it comes to pellets, ask what they’ve been fed where they are. There’s a good feeding guide with an example of what is a good ‘plate’ of food. They also like to sit in the hay as they eat, and sleep in it. So you could possibly get a litter tray and line with substrate/puppy pads and dump hay in there.

And lastly, enjoy your boys when they arrive. Piggies are really full of character and can provide hours of entertainment And be prepared to want more

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone..

We are hopefully picking up our 2 new baby boys on the 18th or 19th May and i was after some guidance if possible.

We have a Ferplast 120 cage that i got recently brand new. we had 2 rabbits in it for 2 days so no damage was done to it.. i'm going to clean out, wash and disinfect before we get the boys. They will be going in my sons room - open to change, maybe into mine - although they are his pigs.

I'm looking into making a fleece liner for them using fleeces from Primarni - cheap and can get a few at a time with a bath towel sewn into the middle.. fleece is my choice for a few reasons. Both myself and my son have asthma and i think this will be the best alternative to straw etc.. also its much cleaner than going in and having sawdust, hay, substrate all over the place when theyve had zoomies..

I'm going to get 2 of everything as mentioned in some threads.

can anyone give me any other guidance to what i can do to make them settle in safely and comfortably as soon as we get them.

thanks
Jilly x

Hi and welcome

Please take the time to read our Wannabe and our New Owners guide collections. You will find both hopefully very helpful as they should answer most of your questions and then some more! The guides address specifically all the areas we get the most questions and concerns about by new owners and also include information on how to learn what is normal and not and how to minimise the risk of preventable problems and deaths down the line. The new owners guide collection has a whole section dedicated to settling in and interacting with your guinea pigs in way that make sense to them.

Here are the links:
Are Guinea Pigs For Me? - A Guide
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

Please be aware that especially boars need all the space they can get when they go through the hormonal teenage months to get away from each other and avoid the increased risk of fights if they can't. Your cage size is at the very bottom end of the welfare recommendations. We strongly recommend larger cages for that reason. We also strongly recommend to have a plan B in place if your boys have not been picked for character compatibility and mutual liking and are both same age babies, and they do not make it adulthood together. That said, the majority of boars will stay together but the percentage of failure in pairs that have not been personality matched is sadly rather high.
You can find information on cage sizes and boars via the above links.

 

[Caris]

I think a 120 cage is okay for girls, but sadly doesn't work so well for boys. I started off with one (I'd originally planned to get a couple of sows, but fell hopelessly in love with a pair of boars instead). By the time you have two of everything, it doesn't leave much space for them to move around and get away from each other, especially when they get bigger!

I've just made my 2 boars a 5x2 c&c cage with a loft. It cost me less than £35 (the grids for £25 from Amazon, 2 correx sheets from Wickes for £7) and you get more than twice the space.

 

[JillyChrimes]

Yeah... The issue is, I've only just bought it from new so I'd need to sell and buy something bigger which I'll be instantly more expense. I'm planning on keeping it for a month or 2 then getting bigger. They're only tiny at the minute so they should be OK for a month or so. Once they're big, I'll sort the space out...

 

[Wiebke]

Yeah... The issue is, I've only just bought it from new so I'd need to sell and buy something bigger which I'll be instantly more expense. I'm planning on keeping it for a month or 2 then getting bigger. They're only tiny at the minute so they should be OK for a month or so. Once they're big, I'll sort the space out...

It is always gutting when you discover that you have bought the wrong piece of kit; but with boars, especially young ones, space really matters!

Take your time to do your research and save up for a cage and layout that you can ideally divide if you run into problems. If you opt for C&C (which I also use for my own many piggies), I would recommend you to get enough grids for a quick divider.
Mine have definitely come into play with my own boar pairs and have proven very handy at very little expense!

 

[JillyChrimes]

I think a 120 cage is okay for girls, but sadly doesn't work so well for boys. I started off with one (I'd originally planned to get a couple of sows, but fell hopelessly in love with a pair of boars instead). By the time you have two of everything, it doesn't leave much space for them to move around and get away from each other, especially when they get bigger!

I've just made my 2 boars a 5x2 c&c cage with a loft. It cost me less than £35 (the grids for £25 from Amazon, 2 correx sheets from Wickes for £7) and you get more than twice the space.

Where did you get the grids for £25!?!?!

 

[Caris]

Where did you get the grids for £25!?!?!

I had the same issue where I bought it new and found that it wasn't going to work (they really do like their space!), and that a bigger cage was going to cost quite a bit. I got the grids from HERE and used cable ties to fit it together. You get the connectors, but I found the cable ties easier. It was enough for me to make a 5x2 with a 1x2 loft:

 

[Merab]

Welcome to the forum.
You've already been pointed in the right direction for helpful advice.
It's very exciting waiting for piggies and we'll all be waiting for the pictures and news of their arrival.